Guest blogged by Jon Ponder, Pensito Review.
Rep. Steven King (R-Iowa) |
Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) |
Prospects are so bad for Republicans in the Senate that Sen. Mitch McConnell, their embattled leader, has given them free reign to vote against the party and, certainly, their unpopular president, if it will help them save their seats in November.
In stark contrast, Republicans in the House are apparently determined to follow Bush in lockstep over the cliff (to mix multiple metaphors), or at least that’s the impression they gave at the impeachment hearing last Friday — which was officially titled “Executive Power and Its Constitutional Limitation” — when GOP Judiciary Committee members put on a show of the sort of blind loyalty to George Bush that put their party in its dire predicament in the first place.
One by one, these pols — all of them the sort of Republicans who give white guys a bad name — took turns lashing out at the proceedings and trying to spin Bush’s crimes as insignificant and morally relative to other president’s misdeeds. At worst, it was a disgusting display of complicit politicians trying to save their own skins by fending off any pursuit of justice for Bush. At best, they came off a bit comically, like vampires in movies clawing and snarling at sunlight just seconds before they meet their doom.
Speaking of horror, a prime example of growling and back-biting — not to mention outright lying on the record — was the performance of Rep. Steve King of Iowa (who is not related to the novelist Stephen King).
“And as I’ve watched the Bush administration every day in the seven and a half years,” King said, “I didn’t see anything along the way that would have indicated to me by an objective judgment that we would be sitting here with these impeachment hearings today.” And later, “I would point out that it would be pretty rare if you could find anyone out in the crowd who could actually say what it is that [Dick Cheney’s former Chief of Staff] Scooter Libby actually did.”
That was a rhetorical statement, of course. There were probably any number of people in the room who could have told King that Libby was convicted on one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury and one count of making false statements to federal investigators, and that he is the highest ranking White House official to be convicted of a crime since John Poindexter was convicted in the Reagan-Bush Iran-Contra scandal.
King is best known for saying that the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison was no worse than a fraternity hazing. In March, he made news when he said that terrorists “will be dancing in the streets” if Barack Obama is elected president.
Even worse than King, however, was Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), who trotted out tired and tattered GOP terror politics, first by eliding the nefarious aims of bin Laden to gain nuclear power with those of his mortal enemies who run the Iranian regime, and then by implying that by holding the hearing, the Democrats were helping the terrorists:
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the ranking member, set the tone for his party’s studied unseriousness about the proceedings: “This week it seems that we are hosting an anger management class.”
Rep. Dan Lungren, the last Republican attorney general of California, articulated the minority’s position: “Maybe what we’re here for is something called impeachment lite. . . . We’re sort of in that Never-Neverland of accusing the president of impeachable offenses but not taking actions to impeach him, which I guess impugns him but does not impeach him, but maybe it has the same effect in the court of public opinion.”
For a flavor of the Republicans’ comportment, here are excerpts extracted from a recap of the hearing by Mikel Weisser at OpEd News :
Trent Franks stuck to his message of dismay that the terrorists are winning and that there were many notable Democrats who also called for a War on Iraq based on claims of WMDs. He also did a rousing review of quotes to demonstrate how much the terrorists hate us for our freedom. “And somehow we’re going after this president you has done everything in his power to protect us.” Of course, in putting together his terror routine, Franks failed, as so many GOP leaders do, to mention that the American public and politicians were operating on intelligence supplied by Bush in the first place. When Swartz tried to comment Franks concluded his turn rather than let him speak. He also mentioned that by focusing on “fairy tales” instead of terrorists, all there that morning should be ashamed.
[…]Rep. Louie Gohmert R-TX condemned most of the witnesses, reminding them that if misleading to congress is a criminal offense they should consider their “brash allegations.” Gohmert focused on Clinton’s earlier failures and poor President Bush who “naively” “accepted” “Clinton’s lies” about Iraq WMDs. He further claimed that Joe Wilson started speaking out to protect his friends in France who were scamming the UN oil for food deal. He also added, like Franks that the focus of the day should have been on the terrorists, not the innocent, though naive president. The biggest problem right now is that the Supreme Court had just voted to “release terrorists on American soil.”
[…]Dan Lungren, R-CA, addressed Holtzman and Bugliosi and returned to the popular Republican phrase, the criminalizing of political difference of opinion. He looked back to earlier presidential abuses including the little mentioned tale of Wilson having political cartoonists imprisoned for unfavorable cartoons. He also likened Japanese Internment to Nixon’s post-presidential tax investigations and said the Democrats were “tantamount to overcharging the case.” He asked if impeachment is the proper tool. Turning to Rabkin and Presser for support, Lungren interrupted Presser and himself to complain that people in the audience were holding signs.
[…]The last to speak, Dan Lungren, R-CA, came back to the microphone to say that “there is an essential difference between an misstatement of facts and an intentional misstatement;” and as a former prosecutor he knows such allegations are easily made and hard to prove, it’s “a long road;” only to find himself cross-examined by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, on whether or not the faulty and misleading intelligence reports Bush gave to Congress rises to the level of lying. Again Lungren used the opportunity to complain about the crowd behavior. Conyers apologized for the crowd’s behavior and said disrupters would not be invited back to this chamber. After that, citing Eisenhower’s memoirs, he justified Bush’s choice to have faith in the intelligence we had and we should accept his good will and intentions. Like Eisenhower, Bush merely “made a decision based on the best intelligence he had.”
“The way this has been portrayed as a president chomping at the bit to violate the Constitution is just unreasonable,” Lungren concluded. Nadler countered that the issue wasn’t about the quality of the intelligence Bush had, but that prima fascia Bush selected the information he wanted to use and hid the rest from the world community. Lungren stuck to his guns despite a final effort to challenge him by Rep Scott.
A pro-Bush witness called in by the GOP dismissed the proceedings this way:
By “the rest of the country,” Rabkin, of course, meant “Fox News viewers” — not the 55 percent of Americans who believe George Bush has abused his power in a way that rises to an impeachable offense.
All in all, it was as sad and sickening a display by the Republicans as we have seen since they lost control of Congress. It was sad because these are the same Republicans who became complicit in Bush’s bullying and malfeasance by enabling him at every turn — and it is always depressing to see enablers in an abusive relationships kowtowing to their abusers.
And it was sickening because, on Friday, as they have done since Bush assumed power in January 2000, these pols put their fealty to Dear Leader, the Republican Party and their own political futures ahead of the good of the country and their own oaths to uphold the Constitution.
*
Other Coverage
The corporate media is ignoring this story, so here are some links to video and other coverage.
You’ll find a complete playlist of YouTube videos of the hearing here.
And here is a list of links to YouTube videos of the proceedings compiled by Gene Cappa, a commenter at OpEd News:
- Kucinich enters hearing to cheers
- Rep. Robert Wexler
- Rep. Steve King
- Rep. Jerrold Nadler
- Rep. Trent Franks
- Rep. Dennis Kucinich
- Bruce Fein
- Vincent Bugliosi
- Bruce Fein
- Vincent Bugliosi
- Vincent Bugliosi
- Lamar Smith
- Rep. Tammy Baldwin
- Maurice Hinchey
- Rep. Dan Lungren
- Protesters ejected
- Rep. Walter Jones
- Congressman Steve Cohen
Dennis Kucinich on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal”:
Folks should watch the complete hearing. It is worth the time.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/28/house_judiciary_committee_hold_historic_hearings
I believe the complete hearings are at the House Judiciary Committee website
Hmmmmmmm. Let’s pare down Mr. Ponder’s first sentence…
“Prospects are so bad for Republicans… that …McConnell…has given them free reign to vote against the party and…the…president, if it will help them save their seats in November.”
One of the most repeated reasons why we can’t impeach is that we don’t have the votes. I confess that each time someone says that I am quite impressed with their powers of clairvoyance. Being able to see into the future & see how people will vote is a rare gift. It brought me THIS CLOSE to switching my part affiliation, I can tell ya.
And yet here, magically, it appears that this insurmountable obstacle might actually be removed!
My faith is badly shaken.
Really a good one 😉 Enjoyed it with a cup of tea
Joan-
I agree with your comments but when I see what these Republicans are like and how determined they are to protect party at the expense of the Constitution, I have to admit that an impeachment hearing in the House would be UNBELIEVABLY contentious and even if it was referred to the Senate, it would NEVER receive the 2/3 majority required to convict, given the complicit criminals in that body. I still think the process would be important and a sign that the Democrats (and perhaps a few honest Republicans, if there are any) are willing to stand up for the constitution. That is what it is really all about and what history will judge this Congress (likely poorly) for.
I have been blocked from downloading this hearing from the C-Span website and I know others have had trouble too, but today I was magically able to finally get the entire thing with RealPlayer even though the live feeds worked fine all along.
From the clips, it seems to be a fascinating session and VERY damaging to our great leader. The Republicans defending him look like oafs. There’s a reason hardly any Republican liars showed up to this. Anything they say can be compared with things they said in the fake impeachment of Bill Clinton, making them look like the pigs they are.
Infinite shame on the media for ignoring this!
Thanks for compiling this list of clips Jon!
Franks’ antics can be explained by the simple fact that politics in Arizona is 100% controlled by the Lansky-Bronfman arm of the organized crime syndicate. Regardless of party, if you’re not acceptable to the Mob, your political chances are similar to those of a celluuloid dog chasing a cast iron cat through Hell.
Current top story on huffingtonpost.com:
“Justice Department Aides Broke The Law”
“Ethics Panel Finds Former Officials Routinely Broke The Law In Hiring Process… Used Political Litmus Tests To Screen Job Candidates… Conducted Internet Searches For Phrases Like “Abortion,” “Homosexual,” And “Florida Re-Count” ”
“…Ms. Goodling testified before Congress…admitting that she may have “crossed the line†at times…she, Mr. Sampson and Mr. Gonzales should be investigated for perjury…”
I’m very very tired of hearing
“should be investigated”
“should form a committee”
“should look into”
“find out IF laws were broken”
“MAY have broken the law”
How many times have these people sat there and said that laws were broken? I dunno, seems pretty clear to me. If I committed a crime, my ass would be in jail.
Steve,
I get your point & I agree with you. We need to remember that Clinton wasn’t convicted either, but his impeachment is PERMANENTLY etched into the record.
And SO FUCKING WHAT if it’s contentious! Will we live? Will the country survive it? YES & YES!
Don’t we maybe owe at LEAST that much to the 4000? And to the thousands & thousands of dead and horribly maimed people who did NOTHING to us? YES & YES!
Sorry, Steve, didn’t mean to yell at you.
these complicit cohorts should be the first to fall on November 4th, sending the message America will not tolerate traitors or the obstructors who protect them.
The bush admin will be held accountable for their high crimes and crimes against humanity.
Here are 7 Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee who voted for [the Clinton] impeachment:
Hon. Lamar Smith (TX) Phone 202-225-4236 . Fax: 202-225-8628
Hon. James Sensenbrenner (WI) Phone (202) 225-5101 . Fax (202) 255-3190
Hon. Howard Coble (NC) Phone (202) 225-3065 . Fax: (202) 225-8611
Hon. Elton Gallegly (CA) Phone (202) 225-5811 . Fax (202) 225-1100
Hon. Bob Goodlatte (VA) Phone (202) 225-5431 . Fax (202) 225-9681
Hon. Steve Chabot (OH) Phone (202) 225-2216 . (202) 225-3012
Hon. Chris Cannon (UT) Phone (202) 225-7751 . Fax (202) 225-5629
The statements above {Ed Note: Have been edited out because they are all over the net in whole or in part and if you want to give links, that’s great, but please read our commenting policy. Thank you. –99} are excerpts from transcripts of the House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment hearings. December 10-11, 1998. Each congressman is a current member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Additonal VIDEO Links submitted by Gene Cappa http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Table-is-Set-for-John–by-Gene-Cappa-080727-215.html
#11 Lance,
Thanks for those seven names. I’m going to write them to firstly thank them, but more importantly to say that they cannot let it go at that. This is so much worse than what Nixon’s people did.
Thank the gods at least a few of them seem to realize that.
One of whom was Sensenbrenner! Wow, that’s a surprise.
Joan-
You misunderstood what comment #11 was pointing out. These traitorous Repugs voted to impeach Clinton, not Nixon. Hope you haven’t thanked them yet! Also, as regards your comments #8 & 9, I didn’t take your remarks as yelling at me. I think we were in agreement about our ultimate feeling that impeachment hearings should go forward, no matter the outcome.
Thanks, Steve, I only skimmed Joan’s comment and thought she was being sarcastic, but I see she was taken in by Lance’s failure to provide much context, so I went back and made it clearer.
We all know, whatever Bubba’s sins, they haven’t yet risen to the ankles of those of * and Fudd, or the knees of Nixon.
Steve & 99,
Hahaha WOW…thanks for correcting me!! I am abashed. Really, I thought “Sensenbrenner?? Has he found Jesus or WHAT?!”
Joan is allowed a mulligan, seeing as she always has great comments.
I’m happy to inform you folks that the Honorable,(gag), Chris Cannon was FINALLY turned into a lame duck a short time ago. This is the idiot who said during the Clinton impeachment, that Gore should be impeached too, just for associating with Clinton. Maybe they should have impeached Kevin Bacon too.
We have to thank Donald Rumsfeld for providing the Dead-Enders moniker. It is simply amazing how these fascists describe themselves, when talking about our imaginary enemies, isn’t it? I wouldn’t recommend any more of these good soldier republicans who showed up at this important hearing bringing up “Alice In Wonderland” to describe the other side either.
HERE’s Republican House Judiciary Ranking Member Rep Lamar Smith (TX) Phone 202-225-4236 Fax: 202-225-8628 defending the Constitution without hesitation: We should not underestimate the gravity of the case against the president. When he put his hand on the Bible and recited his oath of office, he swore to faithfully uphold the laws of the United States – not some laws, all laws. As to the uniqueness of the office the president holds, he is a person in a position of immense authority and influence. He influences the lives of millions of Americans. When he took the oath of office, he swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. When someone is elected president, they receive the greatest gift possible from the American people, their trust. To violate that trust is to raise questions about fitness for office. My constituents often remind me that if anyone else in a position of authority – for example, a business executive, a military officer or a professional educator – had acted as the evidence indicates the president did, their career would be over. The rules under which President Nixon would have been tried for impeachment had he not resigned contain this statement: “The office of the president is such that it calls for a higher level of conduct than the average citizen in the United States.” This will not be an easy task. In fact, it is a difficult ordeal for all Americans, but we will get through it. We are a great nation and a strong people. Our country will endure because our Constitution works and has worked for over 200 years. As much as one might wish to avoid this process, we must resist the temptation to close our eyes and pass by. The president’s actions must be evaluated for one simple reason: the truth counts. As the process goes forward, some good lessons can be reaffirmed. No one is above the law, actions have consequences, always tell the truth. We the people should insist on these high ideals. That the president has fallen short of the standard doesn’t mean we should lower it. If we keep excusing away the president’s actions we as a nation will never climb upwards because there will be no firm rungs. Excerpt taken from Cheryl Biren Wright’s OpEdNews Article “Seven Republican Members of House Judiciary Call for Impeachment out of Duty to the Constitution Link http://www.opednews.com/articles/Seven-Republican-Members-o-by-Cheryl-Biren-Wrigh-080711-38.html
Maybe some music will inspire you to save our Democracy and not tolerate criminals in our government?
http://www.earcandleproductions.com/Get_Out.mp3
http://www.earcandleproductions.com/Democracy.mp3